Thanks to a friend, I have recently started listening to a band called Over the Rhine. I have fallen quickly in love with them, as I typically do with bands that incorporate piano and clever lyrics into their music. Songs like “Born” make me want to abandon all responsibility and paint my life away. Perhaps, I should embrace these moments and be less responsible and more dedicated to my creative side. “Born” could very easily be the theme song for my life…
“Pour me a glass of wine, talk day into the night, who knows what we’ll find. Intuition, Déjà vu, the Holy Ghost haunting you. Whatever you’ve got I don’t mind.
I was born to laugh; I learned to laugh, through my tears. I was born to love, I’m gonna learn to love, without fear. Put your elbows on the table, I will listen as long as I am able, there’s no where else I’d rather be…”
When I hear this song, I’m reminded that I have been blessed with the gift of joy. In the past few years, I have truly learned what it means to laugh through my tears. I have discovered that my true strength comes from my ability to find joy even in my bleakest moment. I am still learning to love without fear, but I will continue to pursue this goal, even if it takes me the rest of my earthly life. It’s a tragedy that we tend to define ourselves by our “responsibilities”: jobs, cars, houses, debt to income ratio, etc. I am making it my personal mission to define myself through laughter and love.
